A month-long celebration of Latin American heritage and culture, featuring a variety of musical performances, speakers and films, kicks off today.
"I'm hoping that through the events, students can become more appreciative of Latin American culture," said LSA sophomore Anna Martinez, co-chair of the Latino Task Force and one of the organizers of the month.
Latin American Month celebrates the culture of all of Latin America and celebrates the various areas of the region during separate weeks. The month begins with Caribbean Week, which starts today, followed by Central American and Mexico Week, South American Week and a finale week celebrating all of the cultures.
"It's an encouragement to growth and to the real meaning of diversity," said LSA first-year student Janet Padilla, co-chair of the Latino Task Force and one of the organizers of the month.
Padilla said it is important to focus on the diversity of Latin America and recognize that it consists of many different countries and cultures.
This year's celebration has been extended from one week to a month so that more latino/a cultures could be included in the events.
"We wanted to have more of a variety of what Latin America is," Martinez said.
The events begin today with a "Rhythms of the Caribbean" party. One of the highlights of the month is a presentation about chicano history by Jesus "Chuy" Negrete scheduled for March 20. Negrete also will give a slide presentation about the history of Mexican women and their music.
Eloy Rodriguez, an environmental studies professor at Cornell University, is scheduled to speak at Rackham Auditorium on March 23 about traditional herbal treatments. U.S. Zapatista Representative Cecilia Rodriguez will be speaking on March 18 and a musical performance by the Peruvian group "El Sur," which will include songs, traditional instruments and anecdotes, will take place on April 2. A cultural fashion and talent show is scheduled for April 4.
"The purpose is to share the latino culture with the community at large," said Katalin Berdy, the latino/a coordinator at the Office of Multi-Ethnic Student Affairs. "We want to share the bond that all Latinos hold true."
About 40 students from an Ann Arbor high school and Whitney High School in Chicago will be visiting Ann Arbor during the weekend of March 20-22 to attend some of the planned events. The visiting students are scheduled to stay with University students.
"It's an opportunity (for the students) to see that the latino community here is active ... It gives them a better idea of college life," Martinez said.
The month will conclude with the Latino Leadership Awards on April 17, which will recognize the accomplishments of campus latino/a leaders.
Latin American Month was organized by the Latino Task Force of the Office of Multi-Ethnic Student Affairs. Many campus groups, including Alianza, the Cuban American Student Association and La Salud also are sponsoring events this month.
03-13-98
| Previous Article | Next Article |
should be sent to: daily.letters@umich.edu | should be sent to: online.daily@umich.edu |